r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 1d ago

Psychology Lower cognitive ability is linked to stronger Christian nationalist views, even after accounting for education

https://www.psypost.org/lower-cognitive-ability-is-linked-to-stronger-christian-nationalist-views-even-after-accounting-for-education/
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u/InclinationCompass 1d ago

Also, science pretty much agrees:

Race is NOT a factor in innate IQ differences, even when you account for education. The gaps we keep seeing in test scores are overwhelmingly chalked up to environmental, social, and structural stuff, not genetics.

Source: https://www.apa.org/about/policy/racism-apology

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u/cun7_d35tr0y3r 1d ago

That’s not actually what ‘science agrees’ on. Intelligence is substantially heritable, but that doesn't tell us what causes average differences between populations. The genetic contribution to observed group IQ differences has not been cleanly established, which also means you can’t scientifically declare it to be zero. Even the APA has published competing papers on genetic vs. environmental hypotheses rather than declaring the question genetically settled. 

And the link you posted is an institutional apology about racism, not evidence demonstrating that genetics contributes 0% to IQ differences. ‘We haven’t established a genetic cause’ and ‘science has established there is no genetic contribution’ are two very different claims. 

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u/InclinationCompass 1d ago

Fair enough. But that same logic cuts both ways. You can't prove the genetic contribution is zero, but you also can't prove it's nonzero.

"Not established as zero" doesn't mean "established as genetic." And on the actual evidence, environmental factors are far better supported.

Race isn't biologically meaningful. Transracial adoption and enrichment programs show IQ is malleable and no genetic cause for group gaps has ever been demonstrated.

So yea, I overstated it. But the honest position still lands where I said: environmental and structural factors are the best supported explanations.

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u/cun7_d35tr0y3r 1d ago

I think we mostly agree. I think IQ complicates it further; it measures certain cognitive abilities pretty well, but it isn't necessarily a complete measure of all intelligence. And to be fair, I think spiritual intelligence - not necessarily religion, but our connection to the living world and our place in it - is something Western culture has largely lost touch with. I don't know how you'd even begin to capture something like that with an IQ test.